Strawberry Moscato Ice Pops

Ice pops, the quintessential childhood treat just got boozy! Have strawberries? How about leftover moscato wine? Then you can enjoy these Strawberry Moscato Ice Pops in no time! Strawberry syrup + wine is all you need to make these pops a reality!!
So I just found out what GOAT means. Yah, I’m behind on all these acronyms. I’m old. I left this new lingo to the millennials and now I’m severely behind. I was OK with that until 1010 Wins, an AM radio station older than time used the term GOAT.
I suddenly realized I am…
Gosh, what the hell does that make me if an ancient radio station is hipper than me?
I’m no longer hip! Or even cool in that aloof manner I managed to perfect. And that bothers me. Because bingo playing and scarf knitting aside, I fully planned on evolving into those super hip grandmas who uses cool lingo in a quasi ironic manner.
I’m behind, tho. And my teen son won’t help me. Partly because he feels I’m old; mostly because he’s a teen boy trapped inside the mind of a middle aged man. So I must depend on my 8 year old, who is sometimes trapped inside the mind of a Kardashian. And that, of course, strikes fear in my heart.
Where the hell am I going with this?
Oh, yeah – GOAT. It mean Greatest Of All Time. And if you allow me a moment devoid of humility – These Strawberry Moscato Ice Pops are just that: The Greatest of all time.
In a few weeks we will trade in our strawberries for pumpkin and spice. Me? I plan to hold onto strawberries with the strength of a renaissance era corset. I will munch on strawberries ‘till they raise the price to $6.99 per pound. That happened once. Regular ol’ strawberries, can you believe it? Not even organic.
*shakes head in disbelief*
Oh… I just realized: I sounded like an old biddy.
Now flow with me, let’s talk about why these Strawberry Moscato pops are The Greatest Of All Time.
First – Dude – I just froze strawberries and wine. Yeah, I know – Frosé (Frozen Rosé) was everything this summer. But, shit – Everyone was making it. And here’s the thing. I don’t WANT to make what everyone else is making. I want to make my own shit. AND! I’m not into dry wine and Rosé is dessert bone dry. I dig fruity wine. I like my booze to sneak up on me. Perhaps make a bad decision and end up with baby #3.
Who knows?
Anyway, I like my wine on the sweet or semi-sweet side. I also like my wine cheap. I’ve never had expensive wine for fear of popping a bottle and ending up with vinegar – Real talk. Barefoot wine meets my requirements. It’s cheap, it’s fruity, and it’s sweet. And I dig that shit, especially the pink Moscato.
So these pops. They don’t freeze solid. Booze doesn’t really freeze unless you add a stabilizer, like gelatin. And even then it’s iffy. Since these pops have well over two cups of wine, you end up with is a little more than slush; therefore, traditional popsicle molds won’t work here. Don’t even try.
Enter the ice pop pouch. On an Amazon search I came across these Zipziclepouches and let me tell you, they’re the ish. They seal tightly, so you don’t have to worry about twist ties or ice pop juice spills in your freezer.
So let’s get this started. We roll into this situation with a strawberry syrup. Strawberries are pureed and then cooked with sugar. The syrup cools, pink Moscato wine is added and stirred. You transfer the mixture to a measuring cup and you fill the ice pop pouches. Easy.
And like as previously mentioned, these pouches seal tight.
The pops are frozen, or as frozen as they will get. They’re tasty. Super tasty. You won’t get drunk or even buzzed. Unless you eat them all. And trust, you will want to. You can definitely taste the pink moscato wine here and the addition of a strawberry syrup is refreshing.
You can walk around in public with these ice pops and no one will know you’re pre-gaming down the street. And that my friends, is why these Strawberry Moscato Ice Pops are The GOAT.
Did I use that right? I can never tell.

Ingredients

Instructions

Add the strawberries and water to a blender. Puree on high until smooth. In a medium saucepan, add the strawberry puree and 1 ½ cups of sugar. Stir to combine and taste. If you dig a sweeter ice pop, add the additional ¼ cup of sugar.

Turn heat to medium/high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture has taken a slight syrupy texture, about 7-9 minutes. Be sure not to cook the mixture too long, as the sugar will caramelize and eclipse the strawberry flavor.

Remove mixture from heat. Skim and discard the foam that’s accumulated on the surface. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and strain to remove strawberry seeds. Discard the seeds.

To the cooled mixture, add the moscato wine and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup with a lip (this will make the pouches easier to fill). Open the ice pop pouches and carefully fill each pouch to the fill line. Do not fill beyond the fill line, as the mixture will expand some as it freezes. Seal and place in the freezer for 5-6 hours. Please note, due to the alcohol content these pops will not freeze hard.